Current Time in South Africa
South Africa uses one time zone.
Page text updated Nov 5, 2026. Clock values are computed from the IANA time zone database each time the page is generated (at least hourly). Holiday and country reference data come from snapshots that are refreshed manually.
What time is it in South Africa
It's 7:49 PM SAST (UTC+02:00) in South Africa on Thursday, 5 November 2026.
South Africa does not use daylight saving time; it stays on UTC+2 all year.
- Time zone
- South Africa Standard Time
- IANA: Africa/Johannesburg
- UTC offset now
- UTC+02:00 (SAST)
- Clock changes
- No clock changes: UTC+2 all year.
Times in this text are from when the page was generated (it is regenerated at least hourly). The clocks below update live.
Major Cities
Johannesburg
Cape Town
Durban
Pretoria
How South Africa writes dates and times
- Date format
- YYYY/MM/DD
- year-month-day, e.g. 2026/11/25 · 25 November 2026
- Clock
- 24-hour
- e.g. 15:30
- Week starts on
- Sunday
- Weekend: Saturday and Sunday
- Calendar
- Gregorian
Formats are the Unicode CLDR conventions for the en-ZA locale, the everyday written standard; individual organisations may differ.
Time facts about South Africa
- South African Standard Time was introduced on 8 February 1892 at UTC+1:30 and moved to UTC+2 in March 1903. Source: IANA tz database
- South Africa's only daylight saving time was during the Second World War, from September 1942 to March 1944. Source: IANA tz database
- South African English (en-ZA) writes dates year-first (2026/11/05), and CLDR data starts the week on Sunday. Source: unicode.org
Upcoming public holidays in South Africa
National holidays only. Holidays observed in individual states or regions are not listed.
- Day of ReconciliationWed, 16 December 2026 · in 41 days
- Christmas DayFri, 25 December 2026 · in 50 days
- Day of GoodwillSt. Stephen's DaySat, 26 December 2026 · in 51 days
- New Year's DayFri, 1 January 2027 · in 57 days
- Human Rights DayMon, 22 March 2027 · in 137 days
Time difference from South Africa
Workday overlap compares 09:00–17:00 on both sides at today's offsets, shown in South Africa time.
| City | Local time | Difference | Workday overlap |
|---|---|---|---|
| London | Thu 5:49 PM | 2 h behind | 6 h (11:00–17:00) |
| New York | Thu 12:49 PM | 7 h behind | 1 h (16:00–17:00) |
| Los Angeles | Thu 9:49 AM | 10 h behind | None |
| Dubai | Thu 9:49 PM | 2 h ahead | 6 h (09:00–15:00) |
| Singapore | Fri 1:49 AM | 6 h ahead | 2 h (09:00–11:00) |
| Tokyo | Fri 2:49 AM | 7 h ahead | 1 h (09:00–10:00) |
| Sydney | Fri 4:49 AM | 9 h ahead | None |
| São Paulo | Thu 2:49 PM | 5 h behind | 3 h (14:00–17:00) |
South Africa at a glance
- Capital
- Pretoria
- Population
- 63,100,945
- Currency
- South African rand (ZAR)
Questions about time in South Africa
- What time is it in South Africa right now?
- When this page was generated it was 7:49 PM SAST (UTC+02:00) in South Africa.
- How many time zones does South Africa have?
- South Africa uses one time zone, South Africa Standard Time (IANA ID Africa/Johannesburg).
- Does South Africa observe daylight saving time?
- No. South Africa does not use daylight saving time; it stays on UTC+2 all year.
- What is the next public holiday in South Africa?
- The next national public holiday is Day of Reconciliation on Wed, 16 December 2026.